An Electron-Accepting aza-BODIPY-Based Donor–Acceptor–Donor Architecture for Bright NIR Emission

A bright near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent molecule was developed based on the donor–acceptor–donor (D–A–D) approach using an aza-BODIPY analog called pyrrolopyrrole aza-BODIPY (PPAB) as an electron-accepting chromophore. Directly introducing electron-donating triphenylamine (TPA) to develop a D–A–D structure caused redshifts of absorption and emission of PPAB into the NIR region with an enhanced fluorescence brightness of up to 5.2×10⁴ m ⁻¹ cm⁻¹, whereas inserting a phenylene linker between the TPA donor and the PPAB acceptor induced solvatochromic behavior in emission. Transient absorption spectra and theoretical calculations revealed the presence of a highly emissive hybridized locally excited and charge-transfer state in the former case and the contribution of the dark charge-separated state to the excited state in the latter case. The bright D–A–D PPAB as a novel emitter resulted in a NIR electroluminescence with a high external quantum efficiency of 3.7 % and a low amplified spontaneous emission threshold of ca. 80 μJ cm⁻², indicating the high potential for NIR optoelectronic applications.     

Extended Alkenyl and Alkynyl Benzotriazoles with Enhanced Two-Photon Absorption Properties as a Promising Alternative to Benzothiadiazoles

A series of donor–π–acceptor–π–donor (D -π-A-π-D) benzoazole dyes with 2H-benzo[d][1,2,3]triazole or BTD cores have been prepared and their photophysical properties characterized. The properties of these compounds display remarkable differences, mainly as a result of the electron-donor substituent. Dyes with the best properties have visible-light absorption over λ=400 nm, large Stokes shifts in the range of about 3500–6400 cm⁻¹, and good fluorescence emission with quantum yields of up to 0.78. The two-photon absorption properties were also studied to establish the relationship between structure and properties in the different compounds synthesized. These results provided cross sections of up to 1500 GM, with a predominance of S₂←S₀ transitions and a high charge-transfer character. Time-dependent DFT calculations supported the experimental results.     

Femtosecond Spectroscopy and Nonlinear Optical Properties of aza-BODIPY Derivatives in Solution

The fast relaxation processes in the excited electronic states of functionalized aza-boron-dipyrromethene (aza-BODIPY) derivatives ( 1 – 4 ) were investigated in liquid media at room temperature, including the linear photophysical, photochemical, and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. Optical gain was revealed for nonfluorescent derivatives 3 and 4 in the near infrared (NIR) spectral range under femtosecond excitation. The values of two-photon absorption (2PA) and excited-state absorption (ESA) cross-sections were obtained for 1–4 in dichloromethane using femtosecond Z-scans, and the role of bromine substituents in the molecular structures of 2 and 4 is discussed. The nature of the excited states involved in electronic transitions of these dyes was investigated using quantum-chemical TD-DFT calculations, and the obtained spectral parameters are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data. Significant 2PA (maxima cross-sections ∼2000 GM), and large ESA cross-sections ∼10⁻²⁰ m² of these new aza-BODIPY derivatives 1–4 along with their measured high photostability reveal their potential for photonic applications in general and optical limiting in particular.     

Synthesis of Linear and V-Shaped Carbazolyl-Substituted Pyridine-3,5-dicarbonitriles Exhibiting Efficient Bipolar Charge Transport and E-Type Fluorescence

With the aim of developing all-organic bipolar semiconductors with high charge mobility and efficient E-type fluorescence (so-called TADF) as environmentally friendly light-emitting materials for optoelectronic applications, four noble metals-free dyes with linear and V-shapes were designed using accepting pyridine-3,5-dicarbonitrile and donating carbazole units. By exploiting a donor-acceptor design strategy and using moieties with different donating and accepting abilities, TADF emitters with a wide variety of molecular weights were synthesized to achieve the optimum combination of charge-transporting and fluorescent properties in one TADF molecule. Depending on molecule structures, different TADF emitters capable of emitting in the range from 453 to 550 nm with photoluminescence quantum yields up to 98 % for the solutions in oxygen-free toluene were obtained. All compounds showed bipolar charge-transport. Hole mobility of 2.8×10⁻³ cm²/Vs at 7×10⁵ V cm⁻¹ was observed for the compound containing two di-tert-butyl-substituted carbazole moieties. The compounds were tested in both non-doped and doped organic light-emitting diodes using different hosts. It was shown that the developed TADF emitters are suitable for different color devices with electroluminescence ranging from blue to yellow and with brightness, maximum current and external quantum efficiencies exceeding 10 000 cd m⁻², 15 cd/A, and 7 %, respectively.     

Bright,Color-Tunable Fluorescent Dyes in the Vis/NIR Region: Establishment of New “Tailor-Made” Multicolor Fluorophores Based on Borondipyrromethene

A new series of high-performance fluorophores named Keio Fluors (KFL), which are based on borondipyrromethene (BODIPY), are reported. The KFL dyes cover a wide spectral range from the yellow (547 nm) to the near-infrared (NIR, 738 nm) region, and their emission wavelength could be easily and subtly controlled based on simple molecular modifications only, without losing their optical properties. This “tailor-made” synthetic strategy for tuning the emission wavelength enabled the creation of fourteen KFL dyes with well-controlled emission colors (yellow, orange, red, far-red, and NIR). Moreover, these KFL dyes also retain their excellent optical properties, such as spectral bands sharper than quantum dots, high extinction coefficients (140 000–316 000 M ⁻¹ cm⁻¹), and high quantum yields (0.56–0.98), without any critical solvent polarity dependent decrease of their brightness. These advantageous characteristics make the KFL dyes potentially useful as new candidates of fluorescent standard dyes to substitute or to complement existing long-wavelength fluorescent dyes, such as cyanines, oxazines, rhodamines, or other BODIPY dyes.     

Judicious Choice of N-Heterocycles for the Realization of Sky-Blue- to Green-Emitting Carbazolylgold(III) C^C^N Complexes and Their Applications for Organic Light-Emitting Devices

A new class of sky-blue- to green-emitting carbazolylgold(III) C^C^N complexes containing pyrazole or benzimidazole moieties has been successfully designed and synthesized. Through the judicious choice of the N-heterocycles in the cyclometalating ligand and the tailor-made carbazole moieties, maximum photoluminescence quantum yields of 0.52 and 0.39 have been realized in the green- and sky-blue-emitting complexes, respectively. Solution-processed and vacuum-deposited organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) based on the benzimidazole-containing complexes have been prepared. The sky-blue-emitting device shows an emission peaking at 484 nm with a narrow full-width at half-maximum of 57 nm (2244 cm⁻¹), demonstrating the potential of this class of complexes in the application of OLEDs with high color purity. In addition, high maximum external quantum efficiencies of 12.3 % and a long operational half-lifetime of over 5300 h at 100 cd m⁻² have been achieved in the vacuum-deposited green-emitting devices.     

Novel Thienyl DPP derivatives Functionalized with Terminal Electron-Acceptor Groups: Synthesis,Optical Properties and OFET Performance

Three novel diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) based small molecules have been synthesized and characterized in terms of their chemical-physical, electrochemical and electrical properties. All the molecules consist of a central DPP electron acceptor core symmetrically functionalized with donor bi-thienyl moieties and flanked in the terminal positions by three different auxiliary electron-acceptor groups. This kind of molecular structure, characterized by an alternation of electron acceptor and donor groups, was purposely designed to provide a significant absorption at the longer wavelengths of the visible spectrum: when analysed as thin films, in fact, the dyes absorb well over 800 nm and exhibit a narrow optical bandgap down to 1.28 eV. A detailed DFT analysis provides useful information on the electronic structure of the dyes and on the features of the main optical transitions. Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) have been fabricated by depositing the DPP dyes as active layers from solution: the different end-functionalization of the dyes had an effect on the charge-transport properties with two of the dyes acting as n-type semiconductors (electron mobility up to 4.4 ⋅ 10⁻² cm²/V ⋅ s) and the third one as a p-type semiconductor (hole mobility up to 2.3 ⋅ 10⁻³ cm²/V ⋅ s). Interestingly, well-balanced ambipolar transistors were achieved by blending the most performant n-type and p-type dyes with hole and electron mobility in the order of 10⁻³ cm²/V ⋅ s     

Optoelectronic Properties of Carbon-Bound Boron Difluoride Hydrazone Dimers

The creation of dimeric boron difluoride complexes of chelating N-donor ligands is a proven strategy for the enhancement of the optoelectronic properties of fluorescent dyes. We report dimers based on the boron difluoride hydrazone (BODIHY) framework, which offer unique and sometimes unexpected substituent-dependent absorption, emission, and electrochemical properties. BODIHY dimers have low-energy absorption bands (λ_max=421 to 479 nm, ϵ=17 200 to 39 900 m ⁻¹ cm⁻¹) that are red-shifted relative to monomeric analogues. THF solutions of these dimers exhibit aggregation-induced emission upon addition of water, with emission enhancement factors ranging from 5 to 18. Thin films of BODIHY dimers are weakly emissive as a result of the inner-filter effect, attributed to intermolecular π-type interactions. BODIHY dimers are redox-active and display two one-electron oxidation and two one-electron reduction waves that strongly depend on the N-aryl substituents. These properties are rationalized using density-functional theory calculations and X-ray crystallography experiments.     

Synthesis and photophysical properties of long wavelength absorbing BODIPY/aza-BODIPY bearing a five-membered ring

Five-membered-ring fused BODIPYs and aza-BODIPY were herein prepared. X-ray crystallographic analysis revealed that the core skeleton of six-membered-ring fused BODIPY is nonplanar but twisted. Such five-membered-ring fused BODIPY/aza-BODIPY dyes have long wavelength absorptions/emissions, high extinction coefficients, peak fluorescence and narrow excitations/emissions. MO calculations well supported and explained the same absorption maxima between BODIPY bearing the five-membered ring and BODIPY bearing the six-membered ring.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Carbazole‐Linked Porphyrin Tweezers

Herein the synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, two‐photon absorption and electrochemical properties of 3,6‐disubstituted carbazole tweezers is reported. A dimer resulting from a Glaser homocoupling was isolated during a Sonogashira coupling reaction between a diethynyl‐carbazole spacer and a 5‐bromo‐triarylporphyrin and the properties of this original compound were compared with the 3,6‐disubstituted carbazole bisporphyrin tweezers. The dyads reported herein present a two‐photon absorption maximum at 920 nm with two‐photon absorption cross‐section in the 1200 GM range. Despite a strong linear absorption in the Soret region and moderate fluorescence quantum yield, they both lead to a high brightness reaching 30 000 M ^?1 cm^?1.     

Structure and spectroscopic properties of Er3+ doped germanate glass for mid-infrared application

Intense 2.7 μm emission derived from modified Er³⁺ doped germanate glass was reported. Raman spectrum analysis was carried out to grasp glass structure. Based on the absorption spectrum, the Judd–Ofelt parameters and radiative properties were calculated originated from Judd–Ofelt theory. 2.7 μm emission characteristics, stark splitting features and energy transfer processes upon excitation of a conventional 808 nm or 980 nm laser diode were carefully investigated. The prepared glass possesses high spontaneous transition probability (34.28 s⁻¹), large calculated emission cross section (13 × 10⁻²¹ cm²) and gain coefficient (5.4 cm⁻¹) for the ⁴I_11/2 → ⁴I_13/2 transition. These results indicate that Er³⁺ doped germanate glass has potential applications in mid-infrared lasers and amplifiers.     

Hydrogen atom transfer reaction from excited carbazole to pyridine

The hydrogen bonding interaction between excited carbazole and pyridine was investigated in cyclohexane by an emission—absorption flash technique. Triplet carbazole is deactivated by pyridine with a rate constant of 4.9 × 10⁷ M⁻¹ s⁻¹, yielding the carbazyl radical with a reaction yield of unity. The triplettriplet absorption of carbazole hydrogen bonded with pyridine was not observed. By means of the triplet energy transfer from N-ethylcarbazole to the hydrogen-bonded carbazole it was found that the triplet state of the hydrogen-bonded carbazole yields the carbazyl radical wtih a reaction yield of 0.7. Excited singlet carbazole is deactivated by pyridine with a diffusion-controlled rate, yielding the carbazyl radical with a reaction yield of 0.1. Flashing of the hydrogen-bonded carbazole does not yield carbazyl radical. The difference in the reaction yields between the free and the hydrogen-bonded species indicates that the dynamic hydrogen atom transfer reaction occurs from the encounter state in competition with hydrogen bond formation.     

Development of an Unsymmetrical Cyclopropenimine-Guanidine Platform for Accessing Strongly Basic Proton Sponges and Boron-Difluoride Diaminonaphthalene Fluorophores

An unsymmetrical guanidine-cyclopropenimine proton sponge DAGUN and the related BF₂-chelate DAGBO are reported. Insight into the structural, electronic, bonding and photophysical properties of these two molecules are presented. Joint experimental and theoretical studies reveal the protonated form of DAGUN possesses an intramolecular N⋅⋅⋅H−N hydrogen bond which affords a high experimental pK_BH+ of 26.6 (computed=26.3). Photophysical studies show that in solution DAGUN displays a green emission at 534 nm, with a large Stokes shift of 235 nm (14,718 cm⁻¹). In contrast, the conjugate acid DAGUN-H⁺ is only weakly emissive due to attenuated intramolecular charge transfer. X-ray diffraction studies reveal that DAGBO contains a stable tetracoordinate boronium cation, reminiscent of the well-established BODIPY family of dyes. In solution, DAGBO exhibits a strong blue emission at 450 nm coupled with a large Stokes shift (Δλ=158 nm, Δν=11,957 cm⁻¹) and quantum yield of 62 %, upon excitation at 293 nm. DAGBO sets the stage as the first entry into a new class of boron-difluoride diaminonaphthalenes (BOFDANs) that represent highly fluorescent and tunable next-generation dyes with future promise for biosensing and bioimaging applications.     

Electropolymerized AIE-active polymer film with high quantum efficiency and its application in OLED

A carbazole functionalized electro-active AIE-activity molecule, TPE-DFCz , was designed, synthesized, and well characterized. The clear difference in oxidation potentials between tetraphenylethylene (TPE) unit and carbazole groups was found which guaranteed that polymerization occurred only at the peripheral carbazole groups and the TPE unit remained unchanged. Its luminescent network film was prepared conveniently by electrochemical polymerization (EP). The cross-linked film exhibited green emission with high quantum efficiency of 63%, relatively smooth surface, and good thermal stability. The effect of different scan cycles on the optical property was also investigated. The electroluminescent device using the optimized polymer film as active layer showed a maximum luminance of 3200 cd m⁻² and a maximum luminance efficiency of 1.16 cd A⁻¹ with very low roll-off of the efficiency. The AIE-active EP films afford more opportunities to develop polymer films with high quantum efficiency via a simple, effective method and promote the potential applications in display devices. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 707–715     

Conformationally restricted aza-BODIPY: highly fluorescent, stable near-infrared absorbing dyes

Novel NIR fluorescent, conformational restricted aza-dipyrromethene boron difluoride (aza-BODIPY) dyes were prepared by an efficient process. Such conformational restricted aza-BODIPY dyes possess intense absorption, strong fluorescence, high chemical and photostability. Additionally, the sharp fluorescence of non-amine containing aza-BODIPY dyes is insensitive to solvent polarity.     

Minimal modification approach to red-shifted absorption and fluorescence in 1,8-naphthalimides

As a minimum modification approach toward longer wavelength chromophores, a series of (4-diethylamino-1,8-naphthaloyl)-aminopyridines were prepared with the pyridine nitrogen located at the ortho, meta, and para positions. Comparison between these isomeric neutral dyes and their corresponding pyridinium-1,3-propanesulfonate salts reveals a red-shift in both absorption (up to an emission of 1682 cm⁻¹ in ethyl acetate) and emission. These observed shifts along with increased fluorescence quantum yield are attributed to polarization induced by the quaternary nitrogen of the pyridinium cation.     

Synthesis and Spectral Properties of Novel Water-soluble Indocyanine Dyes as Fluorescent Dyes for Proteins Detection

Two novel water‐soluble indocyanine dyes were synthesized. Their chemical structures were confirmed by ¹H NMR, IR, MS and UV‐vis techniques. The absorptions of the prepared dyes in different solvents were measured. Two dyes exhibited negative solvatochromism, with a blue shift of the absorption and an emission maximum in (bovine serum albumin) protonic solvent relative to non protonic solvent. The fluorescence properties of the dyes in both free state and BSA were investigated. Significant enhancement of the fluorescence intensity for the Dye2 was observed in the presence of BSA. Dye2 could be proposed as fluorescent dyes for BSA detection in aqueous solution.     

Synthesis and photovoltaic properties of organic sensitizers containing electron-deficient and electron-rich fused thiophene for dye-sensitized solar cells

Diverse fused thiophenes with electron-rich and electron-deficient blocks have been synthesized and employed as the π-conjugated spacers of organic dyes for the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The effects of these fused thiophenes were investigated by their absorption spectra, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties. For a typical device a maximum power conversion efficiency of 6.11% was obtained under simulated AM 1.5 irradiation (100 mW cm^?2): a short-circuit current (J_SC) of 14.47 mA cm^?2, an open-circuit voltage (V_OC) of 670 mV, and a fill factor (FF) of 0.63.     

Trianionic 1,3,2-Dioxaborine-Containing Polymethines: Bright Near-Infrared Fluorophores

Trianionic polymethines of the A′-π-A-π-A-π-A′ type comprising dioxaborine rings (A) and different electron-accepting end groups (A′) have been synthesized. The obtained dyes absorb and emit light in the near-infrared region with remarkably high molar attenuation coefficients (ϵ up to 495 000 M⁻¹ cm⁻¹ in DMF) and fluorescence quantum yields (Φ_f up to 0.73 in DMF). Thus, the novel trianionic dyes stand among the brightest individual fluorophores known to date – with a magnitude of fluorescence brightness (ϵ⋅Φ_f) of 313 000 M⁻¹ cm⁻¹ in DMF. The synthesized dyes demonstrate a minor negative solvatochromism and small Stokes shifts. X-ray data reveal the nearly planar geometry of the trianionic chromophore. All the obtained compounds are stable in the solid state and in a solution, although the relative stability is much higher in polar aprotic than in protic solvents.     

Zero-phonon and vibronic structure of [Os(bpy)32+ doped into single-crystal [Ru(bpy)3](ClO4)2

Highly resolved emission and absorption spectra of [Os(bpy)₃]²⁺, doped into single-crystal [Ru(bpy)₃](ClO₄)₂, are reported. Our investigations, at low temperatures (2⩽T⩽50 K) and high magnetic fields ( 0⩽H⩽6 T ), lead to the following results: The three lowest excited states of [Os(bpy)₃]²⁺ in this matrix are identified from zero-phonon transitions lying at 14169 ± cm⁻¹ (line I), 14230± cm⁻¹ (line II), and 14380 ± 2 cm⁻¹ (line III). These transitions are found at the same energies (within the experimental error of ± 2 cm⁻¹) in absorption and emission. The extinction coefficients of II and III are ≈ 10³ XXX mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹ while the transition |0>→ |I> (line I) is strongly forbidden. However, under high magnetic fields this absorption line grows in due to a mixing of |I> with |II>. A large number of vibronic peaks is identified in the emission spectra. The corresponding vibrational modes are compared to Raman and IR data of [Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺ and [Os(bpy)₃]²⁺. Several distinct modes couple more strongly to the transition from the lowest excited state |I>, others to the transition from |II>, as is shown by investigating the magnetic field dependence of the emission spectra.